Boat block

ABSTRACT

A boat block for supporting the sloping sides of a boat which can be used in any one of at least two positions to change the height of the boat hull contacting member above the keelsupporting block so that the boat block can support a variety of boat hulls of various shapes.

United States Patent Inventor Frank J. Modzelewski 36 Union Avenue. Center Moriches NX. H934 Appl. No. 839,830 Filed July 8, 1969 Patented June 22, 1971 BOAT BLOCK 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 248/3548, 61/66 Int. Cl B630 5/02 Field ofSearch 248/354,

3545351.]19354 P.354(I3Tl.351.3571

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,347,543 10/1967 Zak 248/354 X 3,452,547 7/1969 Joosten 61/66 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant ExaminerFrank Domotor Attorney-Blum, Moscovitz, Friedman & Kaplan ABSTRACT: A boat block for supporting the sloping sides of a boat which can be used in any one of at least two positions to change the height of the boat hull contacting member above the keel-supporting block so that the boat block can support a variety of boat hulls of various shapes.

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INVIJN'IOR. FRANK J. MODZE LEWSKI non BLOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a boat block of the type suitable for supporting boats in dry storage and for supporting boats on cradles during and subsequent to removal from the water. In a boatyard, it is most common to use blocks cut to shape and individually built up to block a boat for dry storage. This requires what approximates a custom-fit approach and is costly due to the inordinate amount of time required to find, select and cut to size the many blocks required to block a single boat.

It has been known in the art to use structural supports, but such supports have generally not provided sufficient latitude to permit the supports to be fitted to the height and configuration of various hulls. Furthennore, the hull of a boat varies substantially between the bow and stem and utilization of prior constructions has generally required several different sizes of block structure in order to properly support the boat at both ends thereof.

The major drawback of prior art devices has been their inability to accommodate a wide range of hull sizes and configurations.

SUMMARY- OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in-accordance with the invention, a boat block is provided which has at least two different operating positions. In one position, the pad carried by the boat block for engagement with the hull may be relatively low to permit the pad to engage a beamy portion of the hull. In the other position, the pad is carried by the boat block at a substantially higher position for engagement with a sharply angled portion of the hull, usually near the bow. In addition, the pad may be connected to the boat block in such a manner that further adjustment of the position of the pad may be accomplished to thereby substantially extend the useful range over which the boat block may be operable to substantially minimize the number of different sizes of boat blocks required to be stocked by the boat yard.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved boat block capable of functioning over a wide range of size requirements by proper selection of the boat block position.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable boat block of improved construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved boat block with a pad that is selectively positionable to meet the requirements of the boat being blocked.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a boat hull blocked on one side with two boat blocks constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the instant invention, with the boat block at the forward end of the hull being differently psitioned than the boat block at the back end of the hull;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view faken along lines 40f FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 the hull ll of a boat having its keel l2 resting on wooden supports 13 which extend transversely of the center axis of the boat. Supports 13 are of the usual type of lumber found in a boatyard and normally utilized to rest the keel of a boat thereon. The starboard side of the boat is shown in FIG. I with the stern being indicated at 15. For blocking the starboard side, there is indicated two boat blocks 14 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention and differently oriented so as to support the changing configuration of the hull.

As shown in FIG. 2, boat block 14 has a generally triangular configuration. First leg 16 is formed as a planar sheet and defines a first support surface. Apertures 17 are provided in first leg I6 to receive safety nails as will hereafter be described. Second leg 18 is formed as a planar sheet defining a second support surface and apertures 19 are provided therein for receiving therethrough nails 21. As shown in FIG. 2, first and second legs 16 and 18 may be formed as a continuous piece of sheet stock bent at the intersections thereof to define therebetween an acute angle 22.

An arm 23 extends between the ends of the first and second legs and is connected thereto by a pair of angle members 24 and 25. As best seen in FIG. 4, angle member 24 is welded to first leg 16 to define a first receiving tube 26 formed by the inner surface of leg 16 and the inner surfaces of angle member 24. Arm 23 is welded to angle member 24 as shown in FIG. 4.

As is best seen in FIG. 5, angle member 25 is welded to leg 18 to define therebetween a second receiving tube formed by the inner surface of leg 18 and the inner surfaces of angle member 25 and arm 23 is welded to angle member 25 as shown in FIG. 5. With the structure already described, a rigid triangular support member is created having a first support surface defined by the external surface of first leg I6, a second support surface defined by the external surface of second leg I8 and first and second receiving tubes 26 and 27 respectively located at the ends of each of the support surfaces remote from the junction of said support surfaces. From an examination of FIG. 2, it is immediately apparent that first leg 16 is substantially longer than second leg 18, the purpose for same to become hereafter evident.

A boat pad assembly 31 includes a shank 32 adapted to be received in first and second receiving tubes 26 and 27. The upper end of shank 32 is pivoted, through pin 33, through a bracket 34 to a pad 35 which may be in the form of a wooden block adapted to directly engage the surface of hull ll. Shank 32 is preferably threaded and carries thereon an adjusting nut 36 which is adapted to bear against the first and second receiv ing tubes. The lower end 37 of shank 32 is preferably devoid of threads to limit the adjustment of nut 36 toward the free end of the shank in order to provide a minimum length of shank 32 which must enter one of the receiving tubes.

In use, at least four boat blocks 14 will be used to support a boat on yard beams or supports 13. Forwardly or towards the bow of the boat, a fairly high block is usually required and a boat block 14 will be placed on support 13 in the position indicated in FIG. 2 with the shorter second leg 18 contacting support 13 and with the longer first leg 16 extending upwardly at an angle toward the hull. With adjusting nut 36 threaded toward pin 33, the entire free portion of shank 32 is inserted in first receiving tube 26 and shank 32 extends into the tube until nut 36 engages the end of the receiving tube. If it is necessary to adjust the height of pad 35, suitable means (not shown) can be used to rotate nut 36 to raise shank 32, such as to the position shown in FIG. 2. Leg 18 is preferably nailed to the support to hold the boat block in position. Pad 35 adjusts itself to the slope of the hull as a result of its pivotal mounting.

In blocking the stem end of the boat it is usually necessary to use a shorter block. In such situation, first leg 16 is oriented so as to be supported on support 13 and second leg 18 extends upwardly and inwardly toward the hull. Since second leg 18 is shorter than first leg 16, it will be evident that the overall height of the boat block will be less. A shank 32 is positioned in second receiving chamber 27 and nut 36 is adjusted for the proper engagement between pad 35 and the boat hull. Nails passing through the aperture in leg 16 hold the block in position.

With the single boat block heretofore described, an unusually large range of heights can be provided for without relying solely on the adjustment of the shank and screw thereon. By use of a relatively rigid triangular member, the boat block of the invention can be used to block extremely large boats without requiring the custom building of a cradlelike structure for the boat hull. While the boat blocks of the instant invention can be used for winter storage, they are also especially suitable in eliminating time when it is necessary to take a boat out of the water for a short period since the necessity for building a cradle is completely eliminated.

Numerous other boat block constructions have been fabricated and tested. The construction disclosed hereinabove is deemed the preferred construction due to production costs, strength and reliability. All of the constructions have in common a boat pad assembly and means for mounting the boat pad assembly on the block at at least two different locations which are different distances from their respective support surfaces to provide wide latitude for supporting the widely varying boat hulls that are experienced at boat yards.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. A boat block comprising a unitary member having at least two support surfaces, said support surfaces intersecting one another to define a joint, a boat pad assembly, first means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said boat block adjacent an end of one of said support surfaces a first distance from said joint, and second means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said boat block adjacent an end of the other of said support surfaces a second distance from said joint, said first distance being unequal to said second distance.

2. A boat block comprising a first leg, a second leg intersecting said first leg at a joint, a boat pad assembly, first means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said first leg a first distance from said second leg, and second means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said second leg a second distance from said first leg, said first distance being unequal to said second distance.

3. A boat block as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first and second legs intersect at said joint at an acute angle.

4. A boat block as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first and second legs are joined at said acute angle at an end of each of said legs, the opposite ends of said legs being spaced, one from the other, said first and second mounting means being located at said opposite ends of said legs.

5. A boat block as claimed in claim 3 wherein each of said first and second legs is a platelike member, each platelike member having an end joined to an end of the other platelike member and an opposite end, said opposite ends being spaced apart, and further including an arm secured at its opposite ends proximate to each of said opposite ends of said platelike members.

6. A boat block as claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said first and second mounting means includes means defining a receiving tube proximate said opposite ends of said platelike member and said boat pad assembly includes a shank for insertion in said receiving tubes.

7. A boat block as claimed in claim 6 wherein said boat pad assembly further includes a pad and means pivoting said shank to said ad.

8. A oat block as claimed in claim 6 and further including adjusting means on said shaft for adjustably limiting the extent of insertion of said shank in one of said receiving tubes. 

1. A boat block comprising a unitary member having at least two support surfaces, said support surfaces intersecting one another to define a joint, a boat pad assembly, first means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said boat block adjacent an end of one of said support surfaces a first distance from said joint, and second means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said boat block adjacent an end of the other of said support surfaces a second distance from said joint, said first distance being unequal to said second distance.
 2. A boat block comprising a first leg, a second leg intersecting said first leg at a joint, a boat pad assembly, first means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said first leg a first distance from said second leg, and second means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said second leg a second distance from said first leg, said first distance being unequal to said second distance.
 2. A boat block comprising a first leg, a second leg intersecting said first leg at a joint, a boat pad assembly, first means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said first leg a first distance from said second leg, and second means for mounting said boat pad assembly on said second leg a second distance from said first leg, said first distance being unequal to said second distance.
 3. A boat block as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first and second legs intersect at said joint at an acute angle.
 4. A boat block as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first and second legs are joined at said acute angle at an end of each of said legs, the opposite ends of said legs being spaced, one from the other, said first and second mounting means being located at said opposiTe ends of said legs.
 5. A boat block as claimed in claim 3 wherein each of said first and second legs is a platelike member, each platelike member having an end joined to an end of the other platelike member and an opposite end, said opposite ends being spaced apart, and further including an arm secured at its opposite ends proximate to each of said opposite ends of said platelike members.
 6. A boat block as claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said first and second mounting means includes means defining a receiving tube proximate said opposite ends of said platelike member and said boat pad assembly includes a shank for insertion in said receiving tubes.
 7. A boat block as claimed in claim 6 wherein said boat pad assembly further includes a pad and means pivoting said shank to said pad.
 8. A boat block as claimed in claim 6 and further including adjusting means on said shaft for adjustably limiting the extent of insertion of said shank in one of said receiving tubes. 